What do the NFL injury designations mean for the Browns?
By Thomas Moore
Aug 29, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
With NFL teams required to trim their rosters down to 53 players by 4 p.m. on Saturday, there will be much discussion over the next couple of days about who will be in and who will be out for the Cleveland Browns.
Much of that discussion will center around the options available to NFL teams for players who don’t make the opening day roster, but may have enough interest that teams want to keep them around. There are numerous options, from the practice squad to various injury lists.
To help clear up some of the confusion about what the Browns can and can’t do over the next few days, we did some research to put together a primer. Oddly enough we couldn’t find anything on the NFL’s website, but we were able to piece together the following information from a few reliable sources.
Related: Time for the Browns to end the Terrelle Pryor charade
Once a player is released, he is placed on waivers for 24 hours. During that time, teams, working in reverse order of the standings, can claim the player. If the player remains unclaimed after 24 hours, he is officially a free agent.
Each NFL team can sign up to 10 players to their practice squad, using the following criteria, according to nj.com:
- All players who have not accrued a full year of NFL service are eligible to be added to the practice squad. One year of accrued NFL service is acquired by being active for six games.
- If a player spends less than nine games on a team’s active 45-man game day roster, they are still eligible for the practice squad, even if they have picked up one year of NFL service.
- Players are eligible to be on the practice squad for two years. One year on the practice squad is equal to three weeks.
- Practice squad players practice with the team but are not eligible to play on Sundays.
- Unlike players on the 53-man roster, practice squad players are paid weekly and can be released at any time.
- Any team is free to sign any player from another team’s practice squad if they are added to the 53-man roster. Players can not be signed from one practice squad and placed onto another.
- Upcoming opponents cannot sign players from the opposing team’s practice squad unless they are signed at least six days before the game or 10 days prior to the game coming off of a bye week.
- Once signed to an active roster (be it by the same team or after being signed by another) the player is guaranteed at least three paychecks, regardless of whether or not they actually stick for three games.
- Only players who have passed through waivers are eligible to sign to a practice squad.
In the Browns’ case, wide receiver Vince Mayle, who is struggling to adjust to the pro game, is an example of a player who could be placed on the practice squad. That would give him more practice time and be close by in case an injury hits one of the team’s wide receivers. Same with wide receiver Shane Wynn, who was released on Monday in the first roster cutdown.
Because he has played in the NFL, Terrelle Pryor is not a candidate for the practice squad, so check that off your list Pryor fans.
What’s that you say? Pryor hasn’t been able to show off his one-of-a-kind skills because he is injured, so the Browns should stash him on one of the league’s injured lists? Glad you asked!
According information from National Football Post and Yahoo Sports, here are the various injury designations that teams can use:
Permanent IR: Players with a major injury will be put on a team’s Injured Reserve. These players may not return to the active roster for the rest of the season and the club retains their rights. These players are paid their full salaries or a split amount as negotiated in their contract.
The Browns placed quarterback Connor Shaw and offensive lineman Michael Bowie on this list earlier this week.
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Short term IR/Designated for Return: Teams are allowed to place one player on injured reserve that they can bring back to the active roster during the season. The player is not allowed to practice until after Week 6, and can only be activated to play after Week 8. If the designation is made during the season, the player cannot practice for six weeks and cannot be activated for eight weeks. During this time, the player doesn’t count against the 53-man roster limit, but he does count against the cap.
While Pryor has a bad hamstring and could, possibly, be placed on this list, what good would it do? Teams can only use this designation on one player, so that player better be an important one. In addition, since the player is unable to practice while on this list, and Pryor needs as much practice as possible while trying to become a wide receiver, there is no value to the Browns in using this designation on him. Defensive lineman Phil Taylor would have been a candidate for this list if the Browns had not released him on Tuesday.
Reserve/Non-Football Injury: This designation is applied to players who will not return to the active roster during the current season. Although players on this list do not count against the team’s roster limit, they do count against the salary cap. The Browns used this list for defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, tight end Randall Telfer and Glenn Winston this week, although the team’s website says that players placed on the reserve/non-football injury are eligible to return to practice anytime between Week 6-11.
Hopefully this list is helpful (and accurate) as the Browns make their final roster cut downs. If you see anything that we’ve missed, let us know in the comments and we’ll fix it up.